Stephen Hawking may have been the smartest guy in the world, even though he believed that “People who boast about their I.Q. are losers.” Hawking is best known for his work on black holes. As used in physics, a black hole describes a point-sized mass (called a “singularity”) so dense that its escape velocity exceeds the speed of light. View Full Post

Days after recalling 11 tons of donated chia seeds because of rodent droppings, the Oregon Food Bank recalled almost 32 tons of pumpkin seeds and half a ton of nutritional yeast.
The reason for the yeast recall was not included in the recall notice posted by the food bank. View Full Post

An unrevealed quantity of ground beef packaged for meal-kit provider GoodFood and distributed directly to consumers in at least five Canadian provinces is under recall after government tests showed E. coli contamination.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) posted the recall notice late Sunday, urging consumers to check their homes for the Good Boucher branded ground beef. View Full Post

The Australian and South African listeriosis outbreaks have one thing in common — fatality rates as high as 26 to 28 percent.
Health officials in Victoria, Australia, late last week announced the death of a man in his 80s as the fifth fatality in the country’s listeriosis outbreak. View Full Post

A grocery chain in the Pacific Northwest is recalling several deli salads, wraps and other products because they include diced onions from Taylor Farms of Salinas, CA, that are potentially contaminated with Salmonella.
Foods sold at a dozen Haggen grocery stores in Washington are included in the recall, which the regional chain posted on its website Sunday. View Full Post

Editor’s note: This is the fourth of a seven-part series on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points sponsored by PAR Technologies. There are seven HACCP principles outlined by the Food and Drug Administration to serve as a guideline for creating a systematic approach in the identification, evaluation and control of food safety hazards. View Full Post

The Irish will celebrate with beer, not cannabis, on St. Paddy’s.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Given the origin of the holiday, we write to update you on the regulation of cannabis in Ireland. Historically, Ireland has had a conservative cannabis policy due to the nation’s heroin epidemic, among other factors. View Full Post

The Oregon Food Bank is recalling more than 60,000 pounds of donated pumpkin seeds because they could be contaminated with Listeria.
Earlier this week, the food bank recalled donated chia seeds that may have included rodent droppings. The chia seeds and pumpkin seeds were given to the food bank on the same donation. View Full Post

Imagine that the phone call comes or an email pops into your inbox – “Sir, we have been contacted by the health authorities and they say our product (polony) has been linked to illnesses and deaths. What do we do?”
So, what do you do? View Full Post

Careful!
The Washington Legislature concluded its 2018 Session last week, and joined Oregon and California in “banning the box” when it comes to employment applications. Specifically, Washington’s new law, dubbed the “Fair Chance Act” (the “Act”), prohibits employers from looking into any criminal history of potential employees at the point an applicant first applies for a job. View Full Post

A total of thirty cases of Salmonella illness linked to poultry, including frozen raw breaded chicken products, are being reported in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick Yet no recall warnings are yet associated with this outbreak. View Full Post